Report: 2014 Salary Cap Projected To Come In Around $130 Million

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN on Twitter, the salary cap for the 2014 season is now projected to rise to about $130 million, up 5 percent from $123 million last year.

This is good news for the Pittsburgh Steelers from a salary cap standpoint as based on a $130 million number, they are likely right now roughly just under $10 million over the cap.

The Steelers are expected to release tackle Levi Brown prior to the start of the new league in March and that move will clear $6.25 million.

On Wednesday, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said there’s a possibility that the organization could be more active in free agency this year than in year’s past. This makes sense as they are expected to be in good cap shape over the course of the next few weeks after all of the terminations, restructures and possibly a few extensions take place.

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I would be watching the waiver wires for a DeMarcus Ware. I have a feeling he is going to be cut by the boys and could possibly get him pretty cheap and would be a great fit in the 3-4 as once the Cowboys switched to 4-3 last year, they weren’t able to utilize his talents.

NW86

Wow, that’s pretty big news and it explains some of Colbert’s comments over the past month that he wasn’t too concerned about the cap. The Steelers are still in worse shape than most other teams and they won’t have anywhere near the money to spend in free agency that about 28 of the other teams have, so I still don’t see them making any big splashes. But it’s nice to know they might not have to make quite as many tough decisions (cuts/restructures) as we originally thought.

NW86

This will never happen. Even if he does get cut, some other team will be able to offer him more than the Steelers would.

Addison

Do you know if he’s including the 2 million option for owners. So could it be 132 million?

Derick L Young

^true

Wayne Darby

I know it is a long shot but recent history shows that not many teams are willing to give high dollar contracts to a pass rusher in his age range so it is not totally out of the realm of possibilty.

Derick L Young

i am glad they can’t make a “big splash” in FA. They need to resign Worilds and Cotch IMO. Cut Woodley and some restructures will happen. Ike taking a pay cut lower his cap hit. Those are a few things they should and might do IMO. A new contract for Ben making his cap hit this year and next lower than it would be. I agree that we need to push all in while Ben is here. As Colbert said.

Derick L Young

wth?

steeltown

This is GREAT news

steeltown

They may actually be able to keep Woodley one more year AND lockup Worilds, then if Woodley fails to produce or stay healthy they can cut ties next offseason when the dead money is far less

Callentown

This is what I’m hoping for too.

If you’re Worilds, would you wait to test the market though? I hope he doesn’t, but . . . wouldn’t you if you were him?

steeltown

Not if they all but guaranteed me the starting LOLB job, which I think they will. By all accounts he likes it in Pittsburgh and I think would stay as long as he can start But, I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to test the market

Callentown

Sort of feels like there could be a fan revolt if he leaves, ala Keenan.

Plus, the scenario you suggest seems like it could cause Woodley to bring his best next season as it looks to be his last in Pittsburgh otherwise.

Nolrog

Remember, Keenan wanted to go back to NO and play in his home town.

Callentown

I mean, I hear you, but (respectfully) . . . who cares? This is the NFL. People don’t want to play in MN (where I live now) but it’s a profession and that’s the way the league works.

Feels like if they wanted to keep him, they could have tried to make it work and kept their investment, ya know?

Derick L Young

yeah Steelers just dropped the ball on that one with Lewis. That is why I think they will retain Worilds. As they should.

dgh57

$7M more to play with will for sure be a BIG help to our cap situation!

Superdriller316

Is that using or not using the 2 million the NFLPA can use per CBA?

dkoy85

I’m sick of hearing that- people saying “oh, not matter what Steelers would have offered him he still would have left blah, blah, blah.” He left because we couldnt afford him and he didn’t want to take a home town discount. The fact that NO payed him well was just icing on the cake

RW

It may not be much, but give our priority with Worilds and our mess of a contract situation with Woodley, there will not be a thought about OLB outside of the draft.

Tom

The optimist in me says this is great news. That this could provide the means to make the team better. The pessimist in me say this just provides the means to continue overpaying some of the under performing aging players.

I read so many posts about Ike and Troy getting pay cuts in the 50% range…. There seems to be a lot of assumption that they will agree. I have my doubts that things will be that easy.

shawn

i think you have a point … with less cap money they would HAVE to make drastic cuts … i hope this doesn’t give them an excuse to still overpay these guys

shawn

the pessimist in me thinks this will give them an excuse to overpay Troy, Ike and others … hope they use the extra cap and still make the cuts they would have had to do with lesser $$ … hope it pans out and gives them a little wiggle room to pick up a decent FA or two.

shawn

of course he should … he has the leverage i think we are in a no win situation with him … to keep him we will have to overpay him for his past performance and if we let him walk … we just spent years developing a guy to only see him walk away and possibly benefit another team much like Keenan last year …

makes u think we have to tweak our philosophy in developing players and getting them on the field sooner

blackandgoldBullion

They better not push a crapload of money out by extending too many old guys. Maybe 1 or 2 smart ones. If they can’t get some pay cuts out of the old guard, then I guess they don;t want to stick around for the next Super Bowl. Sorry, but you’ve got to play hardball some times.

Yes, keep Worlds and some guys like Al Woods, Dwyer, Cotchery, but let guys like Felix Jones and Hood go. Along those lines, you still end up with cap room for the second round on FA’s, rookies, and then a few more when dthe September cuts come. Please keep in mind that there will always be some injuries and you need to have a little cushion.

Do not mortgage the future again!

SteelersDepot

*Ahem* I told you folks quite a while ago that 2014 wasn’t going to be “Salary Cap Hell”!

steeltown

Yes sir you certainly did

..and I believe I used the phrase “the sky is not falling in Pittsburgh”

Jollyrob68

I’d think the Cowboys would try to trade him.

SteelersDepot

for the Steelers? Yeah, that’s not going to happen.

Jollyrob68

As Ed B wrote next year will be the same issue as this year with Woodley. If you cut him this year your cap number is free and clear for 2015. I think the increased cap number makes it possible to walk away now if the can lock up worlds before the league year.

Jollyrob68

Yes and No, If they give me the money I’m asking for and I’m a Starter for My team I’d sign the deal. Waiting and I might findout my value is lower than expected like E. Sanders found out last year.

Wayne Darby

I say this as an option in the event Worilds doesn’t return.

Wayne Darby

Hey I said it was long shot but something to ponder, especially in light of the recent comments by Colbert saying they are going to be more active in free agency.

Wayne Darby

They can try but most teams are not going to be willing to take on that contract either and their cap situation is worse than ours.

steeltown

Yes, but that’s if deemed a post june 1st cut, we would have to have Worilds locked up and still be cap compliant long before that time, with Woodley still on the books. If that’s the case there isnt a real reason to cut him this year, unless they plan to bring in some FAs later in June or July, but by that time the market is slim pickins

blackandgoldBullion

Thank you. I think I can speak for everyone that we do appreciate you, your site and all the hard work that goes into it. However, I don’t want them to continue down the same path by extending the old guard to infinity.

blackandgoldBullion

Actually that’s when you can find some role players at great discounts, just like the Steelers like to do.

Aric Brown

I think hes talking more in regards to a Captain Munnerlyn type signing

Aric Brown

New Orleans was his first and only visit if Im not mistaken… just sayin… seems like he was deadset on playing there… IMO he could have got a better contract somewhere else… for a select few guys home really is where the heart is.. not where the paychecks are

Aric Brown

I firmly believe that even if the steelers matched the offer.. or even offered slightly more he still would be a saint

AndyR34

In addition to Bullion’s comment, it would free up the money to pay the draft choices…just like they did last year with Colon’s “money”.

Patrick Reid

Amen.

Derick L Young

agree

CW

Great news. After cutting Levi Brown and making the other moves to free up space I hope the Steelers look at a couple of the free agent free safeties like Malcolm Jenkins or Nate Allen as a lower cost starter free safety to use until an early rookie draft pick like Calvin Pryor or some late draft pick like Johnathan Dowling out of Western Kentucky can be developed.

shawn

not out of the woods yet … but a couple more years of some good fiscal moves and the picture will be looking much more rosy !

Jazz

Jason Worilds had one productive season out of four; I think the Steelers should try and resign him as well, but I sure hope they don’t throw the bank at him. He hasn’t done enough over a period of time to warrant a huge contract. Buyers Beware

steelster

the dead money in 2015 is 8 million if he is released after june 1st this year that is a lot. If he plays for the steelers in 2014, then we will have his dead money in 2016. I say cut him before june 1st this year and take the 13 million dollar hit and that way we will be done with him. zero dead money in 2015 and 2016.

steelster

I hope they release Woodley before june 1st and take the full cap hit this year. Also, release taylor and troy this year. Take the hits and rebuild the team for 2015. So what if the steelers go 5-11 in 2014. They could easily turn it around in 2015.

shawn

call me selfish, but i dont think we need to forfeit a year to be competitive … you may be right, but i still think we can be competitive without killing a year … we almost made the playoffs this year and actually looked halfway decent at the end of the year.

A lot of teams would not have liked to see us in the playoffs this year … i think they know we could have been dangerous

troy with a pay cut in half is worth staying around for another 2 years … I’m on the fence with taylor, i would like to have him for another year at least at half price as well … woodley is a no win situation but either way we are done with him after next year

.. lets hit the draft hard with DBs and give them a year to transition and still fight for the playoffs next year .. we should be completely out of cap hell after 2015 .. and u know the saying once in the dance anything can happen !

steelster

I think if we do that we finish the year 7-9,8-8 or 9-7 and be stuck being a average team again. Right now talent wise we are closer to the browns talent wise than the top bengals. The browns have a lot of picks in this draft if they nail it watch out

shawn

browns are the browns … they will find a way to screw it up … no matter how many draft picks they have … so u dont think that we were a better team than 8-8 at the end of the season ??

We did go 6-2 the last 8 and both losses damn close .. i know that doesn’t change things 8-8 is .500 no matter how u cut it up, but i saw a lot of improvement and i put a lot of the blame of our weak start on the OL coach and misfortunate injuries .. why they couldn’t pick up stunts the first half of the year i have no idea …

maybe i am being overly optimistic but i could see us easily going 10-6 next year if we leave off where we ended and especially with our new improved OL coach … add a RZ target that would have immediate impact and ya 10-6 is pretty doable

shawn

If Dowling has matured and does well in interviews would be a great late round pick … great hands, anticipation and good speed and size … hard to go wrong with them Florida kids !!

steelster

maybe 10-6, things would really have to go right. I think the no huddle offense really turned the offense around the last 8 games and I’m very excited to see that again. But who did they beat in those 8 games that was good(Bengal, who aren’t great) Losing to Miami in Pittsburgh in cold weather showed to me this team wasn’t playoff worthy. dolphin qb tannehill killed them in that game and he is average at best. I know I’m being pessimistic but I live in Oregon and I was at a sports bar duing that game and a lot of football fans were talking about how bad the steelers defense is. They have lost a combine 10-11 starters over 2012 and 2013 which makes it tough for any team to make the playoffs.

shawn

it was frustrating for sure and i agree they were not playoff worthy but there were a lot of positives … and i could easily see 10-6/11-5 … we are not that far off … 2 to 3 players each side of the ball

our defense played several good games, but just got exposed when offenses new what to go after. We could easily turn it around with another good draft … look at it this way … at least we’re not the raiders with no end in sight !

steelster

I feel bad for the raider fans they really go have a good fan base despite the losing seasons. Hey shawn do you play fantasy football

steelster

By the way, we have lost to the raiders and titans two years in a row, not good

shawn

dont play fantasy … raiders as atrocious as they are have been killing us for years now … i remember the game several yrs back where they couldn’t even get a 1st down and still ended up winning with pick 6s …

have a few good friends that are die hard raider fans … very sad i dont even rub it in anymore … i miss the old days of the rivalry … used to be one of the best, Al rode that team and organisation into the ground !

steeltown

Im pretty sure Clark will not be brought back and Ike Taylor will be asked to take a paycut.. not so sure about Polamalu, he’s still a playmaker, he stayed healthy all year and he’s 32yrs old, I could actually see an extension through ’15 with a reduced ’14 base salary. He’s the only veteran I can say that about.

dkoy85

Very strongly disagree and think you need to open your eyes. We do have the talent… especially on offense to go 10-6 and/or win the division. I do not like your mentality on throwing away the 2014 season to rebuild. If you sign Worilds and feel good with Jones you cut Woodley post June 1st and use the money to sign the draft picks. That way you can participate in FA. Throwing away another year to be competitive when you have a franchise qb and an offense that can be really good is a HUGE waste. You can still “rebuild” in 2014 and make a good run. However, I do think 2015 will be a very good year for this team.

shawn

how much pay cut from Ike and troy is the question … i would be surprised if they do ask for half, I’m not overly optimistic about it, but lets see